The most vivid and unforgettable emotions in a trip are sometimes given to us not by museums and monuments, but by food and drinks. They are no worse than architectural ensembles in revealing national peculiarities and traditions, and with them the soul of the people. Some of them were not created for the sake of taste, but were born by the harsh realities of life in difficult conditions. And they have thousands of years of history. Others have emerged recently, but have already gained admirers all over the world.
We have ranked 12 of the world's most unusual drinks. They will definitely make your trip special.
Alcoholic beverages
Chicha (Peru, Chile, Venezuela)
We begin our review with one of the world's oldest drinks, chicha. It originated in those blessed times when alcohol was used for ritual purposes rather than pleasure. Despite its weak strength (chicha rarely exceeds six degrees), its consumption together with outlandish dances and mind-numbing songs led to an unusual effect, which the ancient Incas described as "connection with the world of spirits". Not only unusual drinks of the ancient Peruvians have survived, but also amazing dishes, about which we have written here.
That's the lyrics. The reality is not that prosaic, but somewhat repulsive. Fermentation of the main ingredients of chicha (corn, cassava, rice or apples) takes place under the influence of human saliva. The components of the future drink are chewed thoroughly, the saliva converts the elements into sugar and this is how the braga is formed.
The unpleasant unsanitary tradition has not just survived to the present day, but has been developed by alcohol enthusiasts. In 2009, the American brewery Dogfish Head tried to launch a batch of chichi on the market. For the sake of which it was looking for volunteers to chew corn. As you can see, there were few people willing to work with their jaws - only 200 bottles came off the conveyor belt.
Snake venom (Scotland)
How many degrees do you think the world's strongest beer is? 10, 15? No and no! Take it much higher: you are looking at a beer that is much stronger than vodka - Snake Venom from Brewmeister with a strength of 67.5 degrees!
The manufacturer warns: this beer is not for the faint-hearted. It is recommended to treat it as a strong alcoholic beverage, not as a beer. So it is unlikely that you will be able to "pull" a few bottles in an evening.
As for the taste, users note the unusual viscosity of the beer and intense flavor. The special flavor is achieved by using not only beer yeast, but also champagne yeast.
What about the strength? Like other ultra-high strength beers, Snake Venom is frozen several times after the fermentation process and the ice crystals are removed. This concentrates the alcohol as the water comes out of the drink each time.
The price for a 0.33 liter bottle is as impressive as the strength of the beer - from $60.
Changaa (Kenya)
If with Snake Venom beer the producer urges to be careful, the next drink is better to avoid it altogether. Its consumption is dangerous for life due to the huge amount of toxic counterfeit.
In its essence, changaa is not a big deal - it is an ordinary Kenyan moonshine. Kenyans replace the grain brogue familiar in Eastern European latitudes with a mixture of millet, sorghum and maize. It would seem to be an ecologically clean product. But this is if you are lucky enough to find a certified product. Otherwise, changaa will justify its translation from Swahili - "kill me quickly".
In the pursuit of profit, numerous criminal gangs in Kenya set up their own distilleries, where changaa is brewed in violation of all rules of technology and hygiene. Sometimes kerosene, battery fluid and methanol are added. Not for malicious intent, but "to spice things up".
Chang (Nepal)
Despite its similarity to Kenyan alcohol, Nepali chang is a much more worthy drink. Not only is it safe in reasonable quantities, but, as the locals assure us, it is also very healthy.
Chang is a Himalayan grain broth. It is made from millet, barley or rice and mountain flowers. It is considered an ideal cold remedy. Chang is especially popular in remote villages in Nepal and Tibet (we wrote about traveling to Nepal here. here). Therefore, a legend was born that mountain villages are often raided by yetis for a drink.
Himalayan broth tastes like ale. And by degrees, too: the strength of the drink varies between 6-10 degrees. It is better to avoid drinking chang in Baltistan (a mountainous region of Pakistan), where the inhabitants add a poisonous plant, aconite, to enhance the alcoholic effect.
Pulque (Mexico)
Another ancient drink with over a thousand years of history. It is the heritage of the Aztecs, according to legend, given to them by the deity of agave Mayahuel. This gift, pleasantly stupefying the head, the Aztec priests decided not to let the masses and used mostly by themselves. The conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards reduced pulque to the level of mass-market, but did not lead to its spread throughout the world.
Real pulque can be tasted only in Mexico and several neighboring Central American countries. The fact is that the pulque's base, the capricious juice of the American agave, often sours. And even the finished pulque won't last long. Attempts to pack it in iron barrels for preservation also failed - the drink lost its unique flavor. Real fresh pulque is a sweetish alcohol with a pronounced acidity and yeasty aftertaste. And the look of pulque is a delight for the unsophisticated tourist: it is a viscous milky liquid.
Pulque is a low-alcohol drink. And yet the Aztecs had their own funny definition for those who had too much of it. The Aztecs used to say "nakrolikalilalika". In the images of these animals ancient Indians represented drunken deities - the children of Mayahuel.
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Soft drinks
Kopi Luwak (Indonesia)
Coffee drinkers can't imagine life without a cup of the invigorating beverage in the morning. And when traveling, the first thing they do is find out where the nearest Starbucks is. But our next drink can't be bought in a regular coffee shop. And not many people can afford it at home. We're talking about the world's most expensive coffee, Kopi Luwak. In its homeland, the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, a kilogram of Luwak costs from $100. In Europe, the price is at least four times as much.
This exorbitant price is all the more strange, given the technology used to produce this coffee. After all, it is... the waste products of civets or musangs, small predatory animals resembling domestic martens. Civets do not do anything unnatural with coffee: they eat coffee berries, pass them through their digestive tract and leave them in a processed form to the delight of the staff of special farms.
Of course, these beans are thoroughly washed and dried before being put into the packaging. But it is the gastrointestinal enzyme civet that makes this coffee special, with a persistent flavor of milk chocolate, nougat, caramel and halva. However, with the release of kopi luwak on the world market, it loses its charm: in the wild, civets themselves chose the best berries for eating. On farms, however, the "source material" for the animals may not be of such high quality.
Also, Indonesia is a chic beach vacation. Read about organizing an unforgettable Bali vacation before you before you book your hotel room.
Panda tea (China)
The Chinese are known for their extremely specific tastes and use of extravagant ingredients. So it should come as no surprise that they have perverted even ordinary tea and made it the property of either the top list or the anti-rating of drinks.
It's about panda tea. Symbols of the Celestial Empire are put in the service of fertilizing tea plantations with their own dung. The physiology of Chinese bears is such that they recycle only 30% of what they eat. And their waste is very rich in nutrients.
Such an unusual way of growing tea, along with a pathos advertising campaign, has led to a really "heavenly" cost of the drink - from $200 for a cup with three grams of tea. Manufacturers assure: when you brew this tea, it acquires a tart nutty flavor. There's little to verify. As well as the claim that the drink prevents cancer.
Do you like Chinese food? Then check out our gastrogaid. Take this opportunity choose a tour from Minsk to get the most unusual and thrilling sensations from your trip to the Celestial Empire!
Onion juice (South Korea)
The next drink on our list sounds ordinary and familiar. But hardly any of you dared to consume it. After all, tears are the most minimal problems that onion juice can cause. But this did not stop Koreans in their fondness for the unusual drink.
In South Korea, onion juice is not drunk in concentrated form. It can cause serious stomach problems. But in the right proportion, according to gourmets, onion juice helps fight diabetes, prevents cancer and arteriosclerosis. And even tones up in the morning, helping to cope with hangovers.
Onion juice is beginning to penetrate our market as a medicinal remedy. There are a number of advertisements for the sale of the miraculous liquid from firms in Kazakhstan and Russia.
Lassi (India)
There is no way the billion-strong population of India would agree that their favorite lassi is an unusual drink. It is one of the most popular yogurt-based cocktails. But for our latitudes, lassi is still exotic.
Also called "Punjabi air-conditioner", lassi is indeed a beautiful fresco sent from heaven in the midst of the Indian heat. It is made from dahi (goat's milk yogurt) with water, salt, sugar, spices, fruit and ice. The spices predetermine several types of the drink:
- Namkin lassi with black pepper, cumin and sugar;
- mithi lassi, where cardamom, saffron and rose water are added;
- Lasi masaleval where you'll find almonds, cinnamon, green chilies and pistachios.
There's nothing better than sipping on a cool lassi at a resorts of sunny Goa.
Bird saliva soda (China-Vietnam)
The famous innovators, the Chinese, did not stop at panda tea and a great many other peculiar culinary delights. They invented their own substitute for cola and Pepsi - sodas made from the saliva of salangans (local swifts).
In Chinese gastronomy, the more common version of the delicacy is to eat Salangan nest soup.. As is known, swallows and swifts fasten their nests with a large amount of saliva. It is considered by the peoples of China and South-East Asia as healing. Only the price prevents active recovery of the population - a kilogram of swallow nests costs from $2,500 to $10,000. And a portion of soup from them, respectively, comes to $100.
In order to make the delicacy available to the masses, an enterprising manufacturer came up with the idea of adding bird saliva to lemonade. The concentration of saliva is insignificant, and sometimes it is replaced by artificial flavoring, but the price has dropped to $1.5-5. The soda has a mineral, floral flavor.
Mate (Argentina, Paraguay)
Like many of Latin America's natural gifts, yerba mate has long since crossed the ocean to the European consumer. But it is only in its homeland, Argentina and Paraguay, that you will taste the true richness of yerba mate, nicknamed "green gold".
Mate is a tea made from the leaves of the Paraguayan holly tree. It has a distinct herbal green tea flavor combined with a slight bitterness or sourness. Strong yerba mate contains an order of magnitude more caffeine than coffee. And at the same time, its health effects are more beneficial, according to research. according to research.According to research, drinking yerba mate reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and helps to fight excess weight. It is a proven fact that yerba mate suppresses appetite.
But you should be careful with mate: its regular use in large doses leads to addiction. It is not without reason that the Argentine soccer team booked a separate special flight to the World Cup with their favorite drink, without it they could not play.
By the way, when ordering Argentine tea, it is correct to put the accent on the first syllable. In Spanish, the word "mate" with the stress on the second syllable means "I killed".
For pets
Kwispelbier (Netherlands) and Nyan Nyan Nouveau (Japan)
On a trip, we don't forget any of our companions. Adults get pulque, children get lassi. And for your four-legged friend, buy a glass of Kwispelbier - dog beer.
Kwispelbier translates as "wagging the tail". It looks indistinguishable from dark beer. But don't be afraid that your pet will get drunk, the beer is non-alcoholic. But it is equipped with a lot of useful substances for the pet, as the creators claim. They have, however, gone for a trick: in order to make your dogs consistently demand foamy beer for dinner, they have added beef extract to the beer.
And what do the kitties get? Japanese producers took care of them. Since cats are of a more delicate nature than dogs, they decided to drink wine instead of beer. Also non-alcoholic and extremely useful, judging by the composition: grape juice, herbal tea, vitamin C. How to make Murzik drink this nutritionist's dream? By insidious manipulation! The drink contains catnip, which rarely leaves four-legged people indifferent.
